We are horrified by the ease with which Nazism and fascism are glorified in the country and hate speech is spread, the Jewish Community and the Holocaust Fund of the Jews from Macedonia said regarding the registration of the Tsar Boris III association in Ohrid.

It is obvious that registrations of associations with Bulgarian self-awareness bearing the names of proven collaborators of Nazi Germany have become more frequent. It is a conscious provocation and insult to the Jewish community, an insult to the Macedonian state and its citizens… or someone may think otherwise, that in this way, by promoting and glorifying fascism and Nazism, good neighborly relations are strengthened, reads the reaction of the Jewish Community and the Holocaust Fund of the Jews from Macedonia.

The name Tsar Boris III is associated with the persecution and destruction of Jews from the occupied territories by fascist Bulgaria during World War II. Let us remind you that Tsar Boris III and the government of the then Bulgaria are directly responsible for the deportation of more than 11,300 Jews from the occupied territories in Macedonia, Greece and Serbia, of which 7,144 are Jews from Macedonia, to the Treblika killing center in occupied Poland. On January 21, 1941, Tsar Boris III signed the Anti-Jewish Law for the Protection of the Nation, adopted the slogan of Nazi Germany ‘One Tsar, One People, One State’ and is a proven conspirator for the implementation of the so-called ‘final solution to the Jewish issue’.

This is a blatant example of denial and distortion of the holocaust, of mocking and insulting the Jews.

On April 18, in our reaction to the opening of the cultural club “Vanco Mihajlov” in Bitola, we called for “a procedure to be initiated regarding the legal standing of cultural and other centers, civil associations, etc. to bear the names of confirmed fascists and proven collaborators of the Nazis’.

What should we expect to happen next? Registration of associations bearing the name of Aleksander Belev – Commissioner for Jewish Affairs, Petar Gabrovski – Minister of Internal Affairs and Public Health, Bogdan Filov – Prime Minister of Bulgaria, or perhaps Adolf Hitler?

The indifference of the competent authorities on occasions when certain individuals distort history in the most gross way and trample on the dignity of the Jews and all citizens of Macedonia is incomprehensible, reads the statement.